There is still plenty of work for Clemson to do if they want to have a chance to make the NCAA baseball tournament.
If the Tigers can go to Charlotte and win the ACC tournament then they will be playing in a regional. Without the ACC baseball tournament title a lot of things will need to fall the right way for the Tigers to make the postseason.
Many focus on the RPI, but the most important factor is always how many teams from the Atlantic Coast Conference will be selected and where does Clemson fall in that pecking order.
Of the 64 teams that make the NCAA baseball tournament 31 receive automatic bids, leaving 33 at large bids.
| School | Overall | ACC | RPI Sunday AM |
| Virginia Tech | 40-11 | 19-9 | 4 |
| Miami | 39-16 | 20-10 | 7 |
| Louisville | 38-16-1 | 18-11-1 | 9 |
| Virginia | 38-15 | 17-13 | 15 |
| Notre Dame | 33-13 | 16-11 | 17 |
| Wake Forest | 39-16-1 | 15-14-1 | 11 |
| North Carolina | 34-19 | 15-15 | 16 |
| Georgia Tech | 33-21 | 15-15 | 21 |
| Florida State | 32-22 | 15-15 | 29 |
| NC State | 33-20 | 14-15 | 42 |
| Clemson | 35-21 | 13-16 | 30 |
Virginia Tech, Miami, Louisville, Virginia, Notre Dame, Wake Forest all will make the field this year regardless of how they do in the ACC tournament this week. North Carolina and Georgia Tech look good to make it as well sitting at .500 in the conference and RPI’s of 16 and 21. If all of those teams make the tournament that gives the ACC eight teams.
If more than eight teams are selected from the ACC the Tigers could be battling NC State and Florida State for the chance to play in the postseason. Florida State lost their series to the Tigers while NC State won the series against Clemson.
Lets take a look at how many teams from the ACC made the NCAA tournament the last few years. In 2016 the ACC had ten teams make the tournament which tied a record.
2021 – 8
2020 – N/A
2019 – 8
2018 – 6
2017 – 7
2016 – 10
Eight SEC teams have RPIs in the top 33. The Pac-12 has three teams with RPIs in the top 19. The Sun Belt has three teams in the top 28 of the RPI. The Big Ten and Big 12 will certainly get multiple teams in the tournament. There are usually a few upsets in conference tournaments that allows conferences to have an additional team make the tournament.
Clemson will need to focus on finding a way to defeat No. 1 seed Florida State and No. 8 seed North Carolina. There will be plenty of scoreboard watching this week to see where the chips are falling as far as the chances for the Tigers to return to the NCAA tournament after missing it last year.